Gadsden students ruled ineligible for Job Corps

Nearly a quarter of the students participating in a Job Corps center in Gadsden have been ruled ineligible for the program because they didn't meet its low-income requirements, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

Many of the students in the program there are from Birmingham, the agency said.

Job Corps is a federal program that funds centers across the country to provide free job training, room and board, and college courses at affiliated institutions for students from low-income families. It is geared towards at-risk women and men, ages 16 to 24, and is designed to prepare them for careers.

The problems at the Gadsden Job Corps center were discovered during a routine site monitoring visit that found two students who appeared to be ineligible based on family income.

That prompted a full program assessment, which determined that 73 of the approximately 300 students enrolled over the past year are ineligible, said U.S. Department of Labor spokesman Mike Wald. He said the mistakes were made by Adams & Associates, the contractor that runs the center for the federal agency.

"Job Corps is designed to serve low-income students," said Michael Wald, a Labor Department spokesman. "Recently, we learned that the contractor that runs the Gadsden Job Corps Center had admitted students who did not meet income eligibility requirements.

"Regrettably, Job Corps has no legal authority to waive the low-income eligibility requirements. But we are working hard to look for options to help the students."

To qualify for Job Corps, a student's individual or family income must fall below federal poverty income guidelines, which are based on family size.

Wald said the Labor Department has sent letters to the students -- and to parents if the student is under age 18 -- informing them that they are ineligible according to evidence uncovered during the investigation.

In the letter, Job Corps officials are asking to meet with students or parents over the next two weeks to review the information they submitted to determine if it is correct.

If the student remains ineligible after that review, by statute, Job Corps is not allowed to pay for their tuition or other expenses associated with Gadsden State.

"We have no authority to waive our low-income eligibility requirements, and we have a responsibility to the taxpayer to ensure that Job Corps funds are spent as required by law," Wald said.

Wald said Gadsden State Community College has no responsibility for the activity that led to the students being declared ineligible. Ineligible students currently enrolled at Gadsden State will be allowed to finish this semester, but Job Corps will not pay for their next semester.

Efforts were unsuccessful to reach Adams and Associates, the Reno, Nev.-based contractor responsible for admissions under the program to the Gadsden Job Corps Center.

According to its website, Adams and Associates was founded in 1990 and operates 14 Job Corps center locations across the country for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Job Corps has 124 centers nationwide, each run by a contractor with the U.S. Department of Labor providing funding and oversight of the program.

Job Corps programs vary by center. On some campuses, including Gadsden, Job Corps has a co-enrollment policy with a local educational institution allowing students to take classes and pursue degrees with tuition being paid by Job Corps.

About a third of the Gadsden Job Corps students are either in that co-enrollment program or are planning to participate in it in the future.